Alternating Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:30pm

Beginning on February 13th

DATES: February 13 & 27, March 13 & 27, & April 10

You hold space for healing. You listen and honor the stories and pain your clients bring to your office week after week.

Holding that kind of space can be draining and grueling at any time, but in these days when anxiety, depression and hopelessness are skyrocketing societally, it is that much more taxing for the therapist. Not to mention, you have your own worries about the world and your own personal struggles.

How can you help someone else fill their well, if yours is bone dry?

You have your own well to fill.

Fill Your Well is a five-session, alternating week program just for practicing therapists and counselors at Unfold Studio in Cotati. It's a private community in which to do your own processing, healing, releasing, and transforming through creativity and with the guidance of an experienced facilitator.

There are different wells within us.Some fill with each good rain,Others are far, far too deepFor that.

— Hafiz

Many therapists have mentioned to me that they would like to come to my classes but their own clients already attend, so that's not possible. And yet, we all need a safe place to express ourselves. That’s why I’ve created this special program just for therapists and healers. I know from my own experience holding space, that you are a filter for all that your clients express day after day and you need your own safe space for self-care and self-expression.

Fill Your Well is a unique offering, there's nothing else like it in the Bay Area.

Hi, I'm Susie Stonefield Miller, artist, teacher, and person centered expressive arts facilitator. My passion is introducing people to their long dormant or banished Inner Artists, and making space for healing and transformation through the powerful practice of art journaling. Find out more about me here.

Art journaling is a no-rules creative practice, combining color, imagery, line, texture, and words to express what's churning around inside of you. It can be fun, playful and relaxing, and it can also be emotional, insightful, and life-changing. Best of all, you don't have to have any art background or training or skills (in other words, you don't have to be "an artist") to get the full benefit and joy of an art journaling experience.

Walking into the Unfold Studio on the first day filled my heart with joy; similar to what a child might feel walking into a candy store. There is an abundance of art supplies in the studio and there is a feeling of freedom. Through this experience, I was able to slow down, reflect, and process things I have been holding onto for a long time. I experienced art journaling as powerful expression that allowed me to bring attention and closure to things I have had a hard time processing in other ways.

— Clara

In Fill Your Well, the focus will be on your personal process. There will be guided options for you, but you are encouraged to do what feels right to you, whether that is use a prompt or start with a completely blank page and no idea what you're working on. Learning how to trust and lean into your intuition in this work is powerful stuff and often incredibly fruitful.

And I will be there the whole time to support you in the process.

For those of you familiar with classes and workshops at Unfold Studio, Fill Your Well is a bit different. Though it’s the regular open studio experience, in which each participant finds their own inspiration and works on their own path, there are additions to the format:

Grounding meditation: Each class will begin with a grounding meditation. It's recommended to plan accordingly to arrive in time (or a little early) for this and not to walk in during this, to avoid disrupting the group.

Sharing: Each class will end with sharing, either whole group or in intimate dyads. Sharing is always an invitation, not a requirement.

Stable Group: Registering for Fill Your Well is registering for the whole program, not individual evenings. The same group will attend the entire program, no drop in's.

Guidance: There will be plenty of support around the art journaling process, but this is not a technique-rich program, rather an expressive arts experience focusing on trusting your intuition to guide you to the materials and expression that best suits your needs. My style of facilitation is believing that you are the best arbiter of your path and healing. I am there to create and hold the sacred container; to share the materials (and how to use them) with you; and to help redirect you from your stuck place, if, and when, you desire. My style is not "step"-driven ("first you do this, then you do this...") but rather holding space for you to discover what is deeply inside you that desires a voice. That means that it is an open-ended process and no two pages or participant's experiences will be the same.

DETAILS

Time: 6:30 to 9:30pm

Fee: $297 includes a new art journal (several to choose from) and all art supplies

WHO: Open to therapists, counselors and social workers. All genders. I recommend letting your own therapist know you're taking the class as I will not be releasing the list of registrants before class begins for privacy reasons.

PRIVACY POLICY: This is a space in which privacy is of the utmost concern. Nothing is shared outside the walls of the studio. And no privacy bounds will be pushed within the studio, as well. No clients' names will be shared. No photos will be taken of you or your work.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Full refund until February 1st. After that time we are happy to refund 50% of your registration fee if we are able to fill your spot. Last minute cancellations and no shows (no matter your reason) forfeit their fees. Missed classes are not refundable or creditable.